Longhorns' Scott back on field after season-long wait

Season-long wait ends for ScottSafety returns for title game after academic issues cost him first 13

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, January 6, 2010

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Ask any Texas player about the hardest hit he has seen, and the answer invariably involves Christian Scott.

Wide receiver John Chiles is Scott's closest friend on the team, but when Chiles tried going over the middle one day in practice a couple of years ago, his buddy rattled his bones so hard he still feels the impact today. In running back Tre' Newton's first camp at UT, he thought he had a running lane around the edge, only to be jolted by a loud Scott wallop that knocked Newton out of practice for two days.

In Scott's world, he does the blindsiding. But late last August, an academic counselor gave Scott a shot of his own punishment.

After being raved about by coaches and teammates as the defensive star of the summer, Scott found out he would not get a chance to show his stuff during the season. The counselor told Scott the NCAA ruled he hadn't made sufficient progress toward a degree and was academically ineligible for the fall semester.

“I was shocked,” said Scott, a 6-1, 210-pound third-year sophomore safety from Dallas Skyline. “It was a little overwhelming.”

No longer just cheering

This week is proof Scott can take a hit and recover. He'll be on the field at the Rose Bowl for Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game against Alabama, reclaiming his roles as UT's do-everything special-teams star and as a run-stopping defensive back.

And Scott will suit up for his first game in 12 months having learned a few things — not only from the 15 credit hours of history, social work and geometry classes he plowed through in the fall — but also from how he handled what he calls his “stumble.”

“He could have went into the tank,” Chiles said. “But he did it the right way.”

“The right way” meant not making excuses for his academic plight, even though team officials said a mix-up involving an extension Scott thought he had from a professor on vacation contributed to his situation. When the NCAA couldn't confirm he'd completed the course, it meant he didn't have the minimum credits for a third-year player.

So Scott was relegated to duty as a scout-team player, where he emulated rugged Big 12 defenders like Oklahoma's Travis Lewis and Nebraska's Larry Asante in practice. But understandably, he wasn't allowed to tee off on guys such as Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley when he had his sights on them.

“I wasn't about to hurt anybody,” Scott said.

He spent the season as a cheerleader, watching from the sideline as his teammates forged their way through an undefeated regular season. Then in November he received some encouraging news — because he'd already redshirted and would enter 2010 as a junior no matter what, if he made his grades in the fall he could play in the bowl game.

When UT held on to beat Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game, UT coach Mack Brown said Scott was the most emotional player on the team because he knew he could still contribute to a national title.

“I cheer a lot,” Scott said, “but I really got excited in that game.”

Can expect heavy duty

Although he hasn't played in a game all year, Scott has a chance to be a huge factor against Alabama. UT assistant coach Duane Akina said Scott might play on 30 special-teams snaps alone. And because of the Crimson Tide's run-oriented offense, Scott will play some defense, too.

“We'll wear him out,” said Akina, who also said he admired the way Scott “got dealt a bad hand and made the most of it.”

As for what Scott is looking forward to most?

Well, it has been a while since he has been able to really hit somebody.